


Elmer Gets Sick

by seizethosegays



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Buttons is a good friend, Elmer got sick, M/M, Yikes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 06:27:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16738813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seizethosegays/pseuds/seizethosegays
Summary: Elmer gets sickButtons helps out





	Elmer Gets Sick

Elmer never got sick. It was a fact well known throughout the Manhattan newsies. So when Elmer showed up on Wednesday with bags under his eyes and pale skin, everyone was a little worried. They let it slide, though, because Elmer almost never got proper sleep. He was always worrying about his eight younger siblings and mother. 

No one was really worried until everyone was about to head out for the day. Race had bought his papes, like usual, but tripped over his untied laces. The poor thing tried to keep his balance, hilariously flailing his arms, but fell into Albert. Everyone laughed, even Race and Albert. But Elmer ended up in a coughing fit. The boy was wheezing and coughing so hard he nearly fell over. 

Buttons, Elmer’s friend and crush for three years, pounded a fist on Elmer’s back. All laughter stopped and everyone watched Elmer with concern. 

“You doin alright, kid?” Jack asked when Elmer’s coughing fit calmed down. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Elmer shrugged him off with a smile. The rest of the newsies didn’t seem convinced. 

“Elmer, I think you’re sick,” Davey suggested, giving Jack a concerned look. The boy was such a mom friend it was unbelievable. But like, a cool mom. Maybe like an aunt. Like, you could say you’d be going to jump from rooftop to rooftop and he’d try to stop you, but after he saw it wasn’t going to work he’d just tell you to be safe. 

“Davey, I ain’t sick,” Elmer protested, giving weasel the money for his papes. Jack and Davey dropped the subject, but Buttons wasn’t having it. Buttons went up to JoJo, who was reading one of the papers he just bought. 

“Hiya, JoJo,” Buttons greeted the taller boy with his signature smile. JoJo lowered his paper and smiled back. 

“Hiya, Buttons,” JoJo folded his paper and put it into his bag, his hands instinctively going into his pockets. 

“Look, I need ya ta trade me sellin spots for today,” Buttons’ grin was gone, replaced with a serious look. JoJo’s smile faded. 

“You wanna sell by Elmer?” JoJo asked, phrasing it more of a statement than a question. Buttons nodded. JoJo sighed. “Alright,” a smile started to grow on JoJo’s face, “but ya gotta stop pretendin ya don’t like him. Even people on the street can see it.” Buttons’ cheeks heated up and scrunched his nose. 

“Whatever ya say, JoJo,” Buttons played it off. Everyone bought their papes and headed out to sell not long after. Buttons followed Elmer, staying just far enough behind to not be seen by him. 

Buttons was to busy making sure Elmer was ok to call out good fake headlines, so he relied solely on his smile. Elmer had a coughing fit exactly three times and it was just after lunch time. People took pity on the sick boy and bought his papes for a nickel instead of the usual penny. 

“Hiya, Buttons,” Elmer called from across the street after he finished selling. Buttons smiled and waved. He turned his attention away for one minute to try and sell one of his remaining papers when Elmer broke out into his fourth coughing fit. Shoving his paper into his bag, Buttons sprinted across the street and pounded a fist on Elmer’s back. 

“Let’s get ya home,” Buttons said after Elmer stopped coughing. The shorter boy shook his head at Buttons’ suggestion. 

“No, Buttons, ya gotta finish sellin,” Elmer sounded sicker than he did earlier. Buttons gave Elmer a gentle push forward and walked down the street with him. 

“And ya gotta go home and get rest,” Buttons sighed. Elmer couldn’t protest because of another coughing fit. Buttons frowned and rubbed circles on Elmer’s back until the coughing stopped. 

Buttons pushed open the creaky door to his small, run down apartment, making sure the food they grabbed for the kids didn’t fall from his arms. 

“BENJAMIN’S….home,” one of Buttons sisters, Annalise, trailed off when she saw Elmer. Two other kids ran around the corner, Alexander and Victoria, but stopped when they saw him. 

“Hey, this is Elmer,” he smiled at the three kids. “He’s sick, so I brought him here ta make sure he gets sleep.”

“Not sick, Buttons,” Elmer protested, rubbing his red nose. Annalise rolled her eyes. Without saying anything to Elmer, she grabbed the food from Buttons’ arms and ran off, the other two following close behind. Smiling, Buttons shook his head and spun around to face Elmer. The sick boy was slouched against a wall, half asleep. Buttons grinned and kicked at Elmer’s shoe. The tired boy shot up and looked around. 

“Hey sleepyhead, lets get ya ta bed,” Buttons grabbed Elmer’s arm and pulled him to his bedroom. The apartment had three bedrooms: a girls room, boys room, and their dads room. 

Elmer practically fell onto Buttons’ bed at the sight of it and fell asleep instantly. Buttons shook his head fondly. The room was dark, the sun had set a few minutes ago, but Buttons could still see Elmer’s thin figure sleeping peacefully. Now that Elmer was sleeping, he really should be doing some chores. Buttons, like a good friend, closed the blinds so no sunlight could get in in the morning. He turned to walk away, but someone grabbed his wrist. Buttons jumped, looking down to see that Elmer grabbed his wrist. 

“Yeah?” Buttons asked cautiously. Elmer started saying something really random. His fever must have made him delusional, or high. Buttons stood and listened to his rant on sewing. “Get some rest, Ellie,” Buttons said, giving a gentle tug on his hand. But Elmer didn’t let go. “Elmer, I gotta go get some chores done.” Elmer still didn’t let go. He just tugged on Buttons’ wrist. 

Buttons lost his balance and practically fell on top of Elmer. Laughing, Buttons shuffled and laid down on his back next to Elmer. Elmer threw his arm over Buttons waist and moved so his head was on Buttons’ chest. Buttons cheeks turned a dark shade of red. 

“Looks like I ain’t gettin any chores done,” Buttons sighed fondly. Maybe, just this once, he could leave the chores to be done tomorrow.


End file.
